


V2 - Second Encounter

by JudyL



Series: The Vet Series [2]
Category: The Sentinel
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-10-19
Updated: 2011-10-19
Packaged: 2017-10-24 19:10:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/266881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JudyL/pseuds/JudyL
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sequel to "Hit and Run"</p>
            </blockquote>





	V2 - Second Encounter

The Vet Series

Part 2

Second Encounter

 

April 2003 (edited May 8, 20007)

~~~~~~

 **Wednesday morning**

Jenny tapped the pen against the desk as she waited for Peggy to pick up the phone. She shifted the receiver and double checked her schedule for the day. She still had a few minutes until her first appointment was supposed to arrive.

"Hello," a female voice answered.

Jenny adjusted the phone, "Hi, Peg, it's Jen, you got a few minutes?"

"Sure, Jen. I just got the boys off to school. What's up?"

Jenny worried her bottom lip for a second, then decided she needed to talk about her "date" the night before. Peggy was her best friend and would understand. Maybe she could help her figure out what to do as well.

Peggy listened as the story unfolded. "Wow, Jen," she said, when Jenny stopped talking. "Did you check your pulse to make sure you're still alive?"

"Come on, Peggy. I really could use your advice here." Jenny wasn't in the mood to joke around.

"Why don't you call him? I can not believe you didn't give him your phone number."

"It's not like there are that many Jenny Watkins in Cascade. And only one vet by that name," she paused, mischief clearly lacing her voice. "I couldn't resist."

"Uh, huh," was Peg's noncommittal answer.

"Okay! I guess I was maybe testing a little. I mean, if he wants to see me again, he'll look up the number, right?" Jenny sounded concerned.

"You want my advice?" Peg asked, then continued without waiting for a response. "Call him, right now."

"You think I should?"

"Good-bye, Jen." And the line went dead.

Jenny looked at the receiver and grimaced as she hung up the phone. She ran a finger over the number she had already written down on the notepad in front of her. She took a deep breath and dialed the number.

"Cascade PD, may I help you?"

"May I speak to Detective Jim Ellison, please?" Jenny said, hoping her voice sounded steadier than she thought it did.

"Hold one minute please."

Rafe walked by Jim's desk as the phone rang. He looked around and saw Ellison talking to the Captain on the other side of the bullpen. "Hey, Jim, phone's ringing."

Jim looked over. He was in the middle of something very important. Could it be Jenny? Simon cleared his throat. Well, it'll have to wait. "Can you get it for me, Rafe? Just take a message. Thanks."

Rafe nodded and picked up the phone. "Major Crime."

"Jim?" came a quiet, confused female voice.

"No, ma'am. Detective Ellison is busy at the moment. May I take a message?"

"No. No, that's okay. I'll try back later. Thank you."

The line went dead and Rafe shrugged, hung up the phone and went on to his desk.

Later that afternoon, Jim and Blair passed Rafe in the hall. Jim stopped him, remembering the call from earlier. "Hey, did you get a message for me earlier?"

"No, man, she said she'd try back." Rafe shrugged an apology and continued on his way.

Blair watched as Jim hid his disappointment. "You think it was Jenny?" he asked, following the big guy back to their desks. Jim shrugged as he picked up the phone.

"Hey, Stan. Yeah, it's Jim. You think you could do me a favor?" He paused. "You guys took a report on a stolen truck yesterday, registered to a Dr. Jennifer Watkins. Think you could fax me over her records? …. Yeah it could help with a case I'm working on. …. Okay, thanks, man." He hung up the phone, studiously ignoring the stare his partner was giving him.

"Tell me you didn't just ask for her personal info," Blair exclaimed in a loud whisper.

"It's nothing I couldn't get out of the phone book," Jim replied blandly, focusing on his computer as the screen warmed up.

"Oh, man, oh man, oh man," Blair said softly, shaking his head as he sat at his desk. He continued to watch Jim out of the corner of his eye. The Guide hadn't seen this exact response from his Sentinel before. Not with Laura or even Alex. This was definitely something new, and therefore worth investigating. Blair grinned. It had been some time since Jim had given him a new Sentinel behavior to study.

Jim glanced over at Blair and was a little disturbed by the grin on his partner's face. It usually came just before some series of tests the kid wanted to run on his senses. Jim pulled up the file he needed on the computer, then logged onto the police web. He glanced at Blair again, but Sandburg was working on his own computer now, not hovering. Jim put in a request for a background check on Dr. Jennifer Watkins. He paused for a long second before pushing the send button, but finally did. If she couldn't understand his caution, they really wouldn't have much of a future together.

Jim froze. Future together?I really do have a problem here. But why did it have to be a problem? Just because one marriage had blown up in his face… Marriage! Get a grip, Jim! You just met the woman.

Simon walked by and dropped a couple sheets of paper in front of Jim, startling the Sentinel in a way Simon hadn't seen in a long time. "This fax just came for you, Jim. I was there when it came in, just thought I'd save you a trip."

Jim recovered quickly, grabbing up the fax. "Thanks, Captain." He saw the cover sheet with 'Attn: Ellison' on it, the next sheet had Jennifer Watkins, DVM at the top.

Banks looked at Jim, something was off. He automatically turned to Blair for an explanation and was surprised to see Sandburg with his head down on his desk. His shoulders were shaking, and Simon could hear muffled sounds of laughter, at least he thought it was laughter. Turning back to Ellison to request a reason for their behavior, Simon found Jim's desk vacated. Ellison was nowhere to be seen. "Sandburg!" Blair looked up, saw the empty chair beside him and doubled over with laughter.

Banks gave up and walked back to his office. What did I do to deserve those two? He glanced back to see Sandburg wiping his eyes dry and fending off questions from the rest of the guys in the bullpen. I guess I'll find out when they're ready to tell me. At least it seems innocuous enough, whatever It is.

~~~~~~

"What's this lead we're following, Jim?" Blair asked suspiciously. Jim had grabbed him, suddenly showing back up in the bullpen about twenty minutes after his mysterious disappearance. We've gotta go, Chief, was all he'd said.

Blair leaned forward a bit against the seatbelt and waved his hands at Jim. "Hey, Jim, where are we goin', man?" Jim looked embarrassed. "You found Jenny."

"Yeah," Jim mumbled.

"Why, are we going to see her?" Sandburg sat back in his seat crossing his arms over his chest. He wasn't really angry, just confused.

"You are my partner," Jim said quietly.

Blair's eyes widened. "You think you need backup?"

Jim sighed and shrugged.

The Guide grinned in sympathy. Jim obviously wasn't as sure of what he wanted as he acted. "Sure, man. I'll go with you, but don't expect me to know when to back out or when you need me to bail you out." He shook his head puzzled by Jim's uncharacteristic behavior.

They pulled up in front of the West Cascade Animal Clinic. Blair opened the door and hopped out. He got half way up the walk before he realized Jim wasn't behind him. Sandburg turned to see him still sitting behind the wheel. Trying to suppress an amused grin, Blair went around and opened the driver's side door. "Come on, Jim. Let's go inside."

Jim eased his long frame out of the truck and followed his Guide. He was grateful for the support. Even though he knew Blair was as confused by this whole thing as he was. Blair opened the door and let Jim go in first.

Jenny was sitting behind the desk in the reception area, talking on the phone. "I'll be right with you," she said, not looking up as the door chimed to indicate visitors, she continued her phone conversation.

"All right Mr. Burlson. We'll see you tomorrow. Call me tonight if Pebbles is having any more problems," she smiled into the phone and nodded as she wrote something on the pad in front of her. "Okay, you too." Jenny hung up the phone, sighed and finished writing her notes before she looked up to see who needed her now.

"How can I…" was all she got out as she looked up into amused steel blue eyes. She stood up fast knocking the chair back hard and it rolled across the small area behind the desk and crashed into the wall of charts. "Jim!" Her face turned red, she looked behind her at the chair and then back.

"I didn't realize the vet had to answer phones too," Jim drawled, slipping one hip onto the edge of the desk. Blair hovered several feet back watching the encounter with amused glee.

Jenny straightened the files on the desk. Calm down, Jen. Just take it easy! She glanced back up at Jim and smiled. "I don't usually. My receptionist went home sick and I was just closing up when Mr. Burlson called." She tilted her head to see around Jim. "Hi Detective Sandburg."

Blair stepped forward with a grin. "Call me Blair. It's good to see you."

She smiled back. Jim cleared his throat and Jenny turned the smile on him. Jim's pulse notched up a level. "So what brings you by in the middle of the afternoon?" Jenny asked, leaning against the side of the desk.

Jim glanced at Blair, who shrugged, this is your show buddy, then turned back to Jenny. "We were in the neighborhood…" Blair snorted. "And I just thought I'd stop by to say hi."

Jenny grinned and nodded. "I'm glad you did. Would you like the fifty cent tour?"

"Sure," Blair spoke up, not wanting to give Jim a chance to back out now.

"I'll just lock the front," Jenny went to the front door and turned the sign to closed as she flipped the deadbolt. "This of course is the waiting room." She indicated the room they were in with a sweeping arm gesture. "This hall leads to the exam rooms and back of the clinic."

They peeked dutifully into the exam rooms, each one with a different theme painted on the walls. The other rooms included a lab/pharmacy area, x-ray room, surgery and three different wards for hospitalizing patients. Currently, there weren't any overnight guests. They ended up at the back door of the clinic.

"This leads to my house behind the clinic," she opened the door and led them through a small garden. The garden ran a little wild, weeds poking up through cracks in the sidewalk, climbing plants trailing over the sides of the terraces. She opened the door to the house and they followed her inside.

"Would you like something to drink? Lemonade? Ice tea?" Jenny asked over her shoulder.

"Whatever you have," Jim replied.

"Lemonade sounds good," Blair answered.

"Go on in the living room," Jenny said, indicating the door to the left, "I'll be right back." She continued down the narrow hall and went through a doorway on the right.

Jim and Blair entered the living room and looked around. A mixed style of modern and country furniture sat in a comfortable fashion around the room. Various animal art, prints and portraits, hung on the walls and statuettes decorated the end tables and shelves. The shelves contained a myriad of books including fiction, biography, medical texts and sci fi.

Jim walked slowly around the room, noting family photographs and multiple pictures of cats and dogs.

Blair sat down, then jumped as a large gray cat leapt up onto the arm of the chair beside him. It sat staring at him with big yellow eyes. He reached out cautiously to stroke the long fur and was rewarded with a loud purr. The cat leaned into his hand and incredibly the purring got louder.

Jim turned to see what the noise was all about. "That's one heck of a motor there, Chief."

Blair grinned, "I'll say. Hey, there's another one," the Guide pointed at a smaller black cat staring up at Jim.

Jim returned the stare for a moment and barely had time to react as the cat jumped straight up into his arms. He reflexively pulled it closer to his chest so it wouldn't fall on the floor. The little cat promptly started kneading his chest with its front paws, purring the whole time.

Jenny came around the corner with a tray holding three glasses of lemonade. She grinned when she saw the cats. "I hope you're not allergic." She set the tray on the coffee table and took a glass herself, indicating they should help themselves.

Blair and Jim shook their heads. Jim put the little cat down on the floor with one last pat on the back. It arched its back, curling its tail briefly around Jim's arm, then sped off out into the hallway as if its tail were on fire.

Jim straightened abruptly. "Did I do something wrong?"

Jenny laughed, but shook her head. "Farli has two speeds, dead slow and hyperflight. That fuzzy one is Grey." The big gray cat turned to look at Jenny. "What ya doin' old girl?" Jenny asked, going over to the cat, scratching her under the chin then rubbing her right ear.

Blair and Jim each took a glass from the tray and Jim started to sit in the chair across from his partner. He abruptly straightened back to full upright position and turned towards the door. Something was growling in the hallway and coming closer.

"What is it, Jim?" Blair asked, recognizing the sign of Jim "hearing" something. He stood as well, placing the glass back on the tray.

Jenny frowned. Jim was acting a little strange. She turned to see what he was looking at and at that moment, Farli came racing back into the room. A split second later, a scruffy little terrier came racing in after the cat, growling softly.

Jenny grinned, then held her breath, wondering what the dog would think of these two men in her domain.

Two dark brown eyes met Jim's blue eyes as the white and brown splotched dog skidded to a halt in front of him. It had a longish wiry coat, mostly white, but with two big patches of dark brown, one across the shoulders and one over the rear. He couldn't quite tell what breed it was, maybe schnauzer mixed with something. The bearded face definitely said terrier, but the curly tail and the big upright feathered ears couldn't be placed.

The dog gave a strange bark, it almost sounded like a question. Jim stayed still, pretty sure Jenny would step in if the dog was aggressive. It approached Jim cautiously, then stood up on its hind legs and resting its front paws on Jim's legs. The brown eyes continued to watch him. Jim slowly reached down and let the dog smell his hand. A warm tongue briefly caressed his hand. He scratched the dog behind one ear and began to grin.

Jenny caught her breath and moved into the chair beside Blair. She had never seen Dreamer accept anyone that fast, especially a man.

"Are you going to introduce us?" Jim asked wryly. The dog dropped back to the ground and looked expectantly at Jenny, her curly tail wagging for the first time.

"This is Dreamer," Jenny said, somewhat at a loss for words. Dreamer, hearing her name, went to her master and received a good rub down.

"Hey, Dreamer," Blair said, sitting then holding out his hand. Again, Jenny tried to not tense up, hoping the dog would behave.

Dreamer only had to turn to face Blair to be close enough to sniff his hand. She stood there quietly while he scratched her under the chest. When Blair pulled back and glanced at Jim, the dog moved forward and rested her chin on his knee. A delighted smile lit up his face and he continued to pet the dog.

Jenny sat back, a bemused grin on her face. She shook her head and looked at Jim, who was waiting for an explanation. "She's not the most social dog you'll ever meet. Dreamer usually likes to intimidate people before she makes friends. I think it's a defense mechanism, you know… if she scares off the bad guys first, she won't get hurt." Jen reached forward and patted the dog on the rear. "You really are a beast sometimes."

Dreamer turned back to her owner and Jen patted her lap, the dog jumped up and received a big hug and more petting. The terrier was obviously enjoying the attention, getting more riled up by the second, until she jumped back to the floor, spun around several times and gave an excited bark/howl as she sat in front of Jenny.

"All right," she said with a grin and another good scratch to the dog's side, "settle down." Jenny looked back at the two men who had been watching the interaction in bemused silence. "Sorry, it's just nice to see her so relaxed around people she just met."

"Was she abused?" Jim asked, finally sitting down and reclaiming his lemonade.

Jenny shook her head in quick denial. "No, I've had her since the day she was born. But, I was very busy at the time and didn't get her well socialized early enough. I've been working on it diligently over the last 5 years, but accepting strangers is something that has to be taught early in a dog's life for it to be natural."

"Well, I'm glad she seems to find us friendly," Blair commented. "I love the name, where'd you come up with it?"

Jenny grinned. "Well, as I said I've had her from day one, and that first night she seemed to be dreaming. One of my uncle's had a dog named Looker, and I really liked the idea of taking a verb like "look" and turning it into a name, so I decided Dreamer would be a good choice." She chuckled, "Dreamer still has very vivid dreams sometimes."

"I didn't know dogs dreamed," Jim said, encouraging further conversation on a topic that was obviously a favorite of hers.

"I assume she's dreaming, she'll be sound asleep, but her paws will twitch like she's running and her eyes, although closed, will move rapidly back and forth, like a human in REM sleep." She shrugged, "I don't know what else you could call it."

"Sounds like dreaming to me," Blair inserted. "I wonder if any studies have ever been done?"

Jenny regarded the detective with interest. "I've never run across anything, but animal behavior fascinates me. Do you know anything about the field?"

"Oh, no," Blair responded, "I was an anthropologist before I joined the CPD. Human behavior is my field, but I find it interesting to think an animal could have dreams. It certainly could change our concept of what defines a species as sentient."

Jenny grinned, surprised to find such an obviously intelligent mind under all that curly hair. Okay, Jen, you should know better than to judge people by appearances. Obviously these guys wouldn't be detectives if they weren't smart. She glanced back at Jim, surprised to see a pleased smile on his face.

"What's with the cat and the canary look, there Jim?" Blair asked before Jenny could.

Eyebrows rose innocently. "Who, me?"

Jenny nodded, giving him her best suspicious look.

The Sentinel laughed, and raised his hands in self-defense. "I'm just glad you two seem to hit it off so well, that's all."

Blair and Jenny looked at each other and shrugged.

Blair was pretty sure their lives were going to be changing fast, but he liked Jenny and didn't have a problem as long as Jim didn't get hurt.

Jenny on the other hand was confused by Jim's words. She liked the younger detective, sure, but would have preferred to see Jim alone. Well, maybe not. She was still a little nervous about her lack of control around the man. Maybe it's better that his partner is here for backup.

Blair glanced at his watch and stood abruptly, startling Grey who was still perched on the arm of the couch beside him. "Oh, man, Jim! We are so late, Simon's gonna have our heads." He stroked Grey's back quickly. "Sorry, to scare you, girl." Then he moved toward the exit. "I'll wait for you in the truck, Jim, don't be long. Jenny, I hope we'll see you later."

"Me, too, Blair," Jenny said standing as well.

Blair headed around the corner, then skidded to a stop. He knew he shouldn't eavesdrop, but his curiosity got the better of him.

"So," Jim said standing up.

"So," Jenny replied, grinning.

Jim grinned back. "Would you like to get together this weekend?"

Jenny's grin widened into a smile, then suddenly changed to a frown. "Oh, Jim, I'm sorry, I forgot, I've got a flyball tournament out of town this weekend. I'll be leaving Friday afternoon and won't be back until late Sunday." She paused, "Maybe," Jenny said hopefully, "maybe you could come up Saturday or Sunday and watch us?"

"Flyball?" Jim asked.

"It's a dog sport, Dreamer and I are on a team. It's a lot of fun to watch, and we'll have free time between races to visit." She rushed through the incomplete explanation, not really expecting a positive response.

"Well, I think we're actually off this weekend," Jim said slowly, not wanting to commit to a trip out of town. He saw hope flair in Jenny's eyes, and realized this meant a lot to her. "I really won't know until Friday if I'll be able to go." The hope faded a bit. "It just depends on what the criminals decide to do," he finished, hoping that didn't sound as lame as he thought it did.

"I understand," Jenny replied, dragging up a smile. "I can give you the directions on how to get there, and if you have time, maybe I'll see you?"

"Sure," Jim replied, he pulled out his wallet and gave her his card. "I really am gonna be in trouble, you can reach me at this number, or at home," he pulled out a pen and scribbled his number on the back. "Just leave the directions on the answering machine if you don't get me. I'll try to come, at least one day," Jim said.

Jenny nodded, her fingers lingering against his as she took the card. "Okay. You'd better get going."

Jim took a ragged breath, leaned down and kissed her briefly. "See ya," he said, reluctantly pulling away and exiting the room. He almost ran over his partner in the hall. "I thought you were waiting in the truck, Sandburg?"

"You were taking too long, Ellison," Blair replied, knowing he wasn't fooling the Sentinel.

"Come on, Chief, Simon's gonna fillet us for being late."

To be continued…


End file.
